NZ Team Hoping For Another Title Win At World Champs

New Zealand Team Hoping For Another Title Win At World Champs

A 59-strong New Zealand ITF Taekwon-Do team has been confirmed for the World Championships later this year in Dublin, Ireland where the Kiwi competitors will again be one of the strong favourites for the team title.

The team comprises of 29 seniors and 30 juniors with results from both contributing towards the overall placing of a nation.

New Zealand was the top country at the world champions held in Italy in 2015, third two years previously in Spain and triumphed when the world champs were held in Wellington in 2011.

The city of Dublin in Ireland will host the World Championships October 9-16, 2017 with around 1200 competitors from over 50 nations expected to compete.

The New Zealand club with the most representatives is Team Legacy Taekwondo-Do out of Mt Albert in Auckland with nine athletes. The ages of the competitors range from 37 as the oldest to the junior competitors of which there are a few 14-year-olds from around the country.

“There is a strong legacy of New Zealand teams excelling at recent world championships. We have a number of current or former gold medallists from recent tournaments and a number of younger athletes coming through, however we know there will be strong challengers from Ireland, Poland, Russia, Romania, Norway and Argentina who are always strong,” says team manager Nathan Bowden, a current world cup medallist and member of the Southern Cross Taekwon-Do Academy, Palmerston North.

“The selected New Zealand athletes are really training hard under the auspicious of Head Coach, Master Gray Patterson and assistant coaches Brendan Doogan, Chris Broughton, Richard Burr and extra assistance from Master Paul McPhail, Suzanne Patterson and other regular contributors.

“They are fit and strong and looking good as a team. They all know there is work to be done, but we’re happy with the standard so far.”

The team is now having weekly training sessions in Auckland, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin with athletes also doing their own club training around the country as well. The team recently underwent training at Waiouru Army base to gain extra fitness and commitment for the world champs.

A major build up event is the 2017 ITF NZ national tournament which will be hosted in Auckland at the AMI Auckland Netball Centre, July 15-16. A national tournament has been held every year since 1981.

Top athletes to watch for include Melissa Bray (nee Timperley) from the Paul M Club in Papakura as an individual and as part of the female patterns team with Roisin Giles (Warrior Club Ellerslie, Auckland), Coutney Weir (Team Legacy, Mt Albert). Kara Timmer (Warrior Club Ellerslie, Auckland), Angel McCreedy (Dragon’s Spirit, Papatoetoe, Auckland), Philipa Henry (Warrior Club Ellerslie, Auckland).

Two of the more experienced New Zealand athletes are Mark Trotter and Carl Van Roon who have multiple world champs titles to their credit and are again expected to challenge for medals.

In juniors Frances Lloyd from Tauranga and Alex Petrovich from Palmerston North, both competed successfully at the world cup in Hungary last year and are considered medal contenders . Lloyd attends Tauranga Girls College while Petrovich is currently studying at Palmerston North Boys High School and competes out of the Southern Cross TKD club in Palmerston North.

Teams:

Men;

Individual Male Pattern

1st degree

Hunter Edwards (Team Legacy Mt Albert, Auckland)

Taine Williams (Silla TKD, Tauranga)

2nd degree

Vinu Vijayakumaran (Jungshin Red Beach, Whangaparoa)

3rd degree

Matt Bowden (Southern Cross TKD Academy, Palmerston North),

4th degree

Mark Trotter (Team Legacy, Mt Albert, Auckland),

Tomo Shibata (Halswell Taekwon-Do, Christchurch),

Individual female pattern

1st degree: Angel McCreedy (Dragon’s Spirit Papatoetoe), Shylene Singh (Paul M, Papakura, Auckland)

2nd degree” Philippa Henry (Legacy Club, Mt Albert, Auckland) Roisin Giles (Warrior Club, Ellerslie, Auckland)

3rd degree: Jacqueline Geurts (Team Legacy, Mt Albert, Auckland), Kara Timmer (Warrior Club, Ellerslie, Auckland),

4th degree Melissa Timperley (Paul M, Papakura, Auckland), Helen Caley (Pulse Taekwon-Do, Christchurch),

Individual Male Power

Wesley Filik,(Pil Sung Taekwon-Do, Wellington), Kris Herbison (International Taekwon-Do Riccarton, Christchurch),

Individual Female Power

Courtney Weir (Team Legacy Mt Albert, Auckland),

Row Hope (Team Legacy Club, Mt Albert, Auckland),

Individual Male Special Technique

Sean Neary (Team Legacy Mt Albert, Auckland)

Vinu Vijayakumaran,

Individual Female Special Technique:

Melissa Timperley (Paul M Club, Papakura, Auckland)

Helen Caley,

Individual Male Sparring:

Micro; Tom Biggs (Taekwon-Do Cubs, Levin)

Light; Matt Bowden,

Callum Woodill (International Taekwon-Do Riccarton, Christchurch),

Middle; Adam Herbison (Jungshin, Warkworth, Auckland),

Igor Kim (Team Legacy, Mt Albert, Auckland),

Light Heavy; Sean Neary,

Riley Phillips-Harris (Ji Shin, Kerikeri, Northland),

Heavy; Taine Williams,

Dylan Cooper (Eastern Taekwon-Do, Pakuranga, Auckland),

Hyper; Allister Villers (Team Legacy Mt Albert, Auckland)

Individual Female Sparring:

Micro; Melissa Timperley

Light Phillipa Henry

Shylene Singh

Middle; Angel McCreedy

Roisin Giles

Light Heavy; Row Hope

Shenea Whakarau (Hart Taekwon-Do, Henderson, Auckland),

Pre-arranged sparring; Mark Trotter, Karl van Roon (ETP Van Roon Martial Arts, Auckland)

Team competitions:

Female patterns; Roisin Giles, Coutney Weir, Kara Timmer, Melissa Timperley, Angel McCreedy, Philipa Henry

Sparring; Dylan Cooper, Sean Neary, Riley Phillips-Harris, Igor Kim, Allister Villiers, Taine Williams,

Male Power; Allister Villiers (Legacy,, Taine Williams Wesley Filiki, Callum Woodill, Brendan Doogan (Dragon Spirit, Papatoetoe, Auckland)

Female Power; Roisin Giles, Courtney Weir, Kara Timmer, Row Hope,

Male Special Technique; Dylan Cooper, Sean Neary, Vinu Vijayakumaran, Callum Woodill,

Female Special Technique; Helen Caley, Jacquiline Guerts, Kara Timmer. Melissa Timperley

ends

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